Chinese two-way-radio company Hytera Communications, whose products are sold in Australia, has admitted conspiring to steal walkie-talkie-related trade secrets from US-headquartered Motorola Solutions.
Hytera entered a felony guilty plea in federal court in Chicago to a single criminal count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, and has executed a plea agreement to address its criminal prosecution by the US Department of Justice.
The Shenzhen-based Hytera admitted to knowingly agreeing to take, without authorization, Motorola Solutions documents and source code related to Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) technology, and using that information to develop Hytera DMR products.
In 2021, the US Department of Justice filed felony charges against Hytera and seven of its employees, including former executive Gee Siong Kok.
The federal grand jury indictment included 21 counts of federal criminal trade secret violations, including engaging in a decade-long criminal conspiracy to steal and use Motorola Solutions’ trade secrets and proprietary information.
Kok pled guilty in 2023 and is awaiting sentencing, while six other Hytera employees are currently at large.
Under the terms of the plea Agreement, Hytera is expected to be sentenced in November 2025, at which time the court is expected to order Hytera to pay restitution to Motorola Solutions and a criminal fine to the US government. Under the plea agreement, it could be fined a maximum of A$96.29 million.
Hytera said in a statement that it is “pleased that the US Attorney’s Office agreed to drop 20 out of the 21 criminal counts against Hytera, along with the forfeiture count, and reduce the maximum proposed fine from approximately $900 million (A$1.44 billion) down to $60 million (A$96.29 million).”
Motorola has said that Hytera’s guilty plea does not resolve Motorola Solutions’ ongoing civil litigation against Hytera.
It added that it will continue to pursue the collection of the more than $471 million (A$755.89 million) judgment already awarded to it in its trade secret and copyright infringement litigation against the company.
“Hytera‘s admission of guilt in federal court validates the extensive evidence that it is a bad actor and felon, and we remain firmly resolute to holding Hytera accountable for its egregious illegal conduct,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions.